Hey guys!

I hope your weekend is going well. I know mine is. :)

Not really much to say about this chapter... Sirius and Aria reach a new level in their relationship. She actually LIKES him. *gasp* I know, shocking. Yes, you have to read. I'm not giving anything else away.

Well, please enjoy!

Warning: JK Rowling is not in high school. I am. JK Rowling probably does not spend half her life on Facebook. I do. Therefore, we cannot be the same person.

So, life and love went on.

Yet, not everything stayed quite the same at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In fact, sometimes I looked back and tried to figure out what WAS the same. The difference between my sixth and seventh year was like that of the Earth to Pluto.

Sirius and I were, oddly enough, what I would call friends. Reluctantly, sure. And, of course, we were all aware of the fact that Sirius thought of me as much more than a friend. But I could sit next to him when we ate and talk about simple things. Classes, family, life… We actually talked. I even took to going out of my way to speak to him, which was stranger still. He seemed to understand some things better than anyone else did. And I always knew that he would lend me a listening ear no matter what. I began to stay late after Quidditch practice, and we would hit the Bludger back and forth, talking about stupid things that had made us mad throughout the day. For him, it was mostly all the girls. I'd thought before that he had relished the attention, loved the limelight. And he did. But still, he found it irritating to have half the population drooling over his words. "I like intelligence," he told me once, "I like witty conversation. I like laughing because someone says something funny. Those girls… they act so empty headed. They're not interesting." Then he grinned at me. "They aren't you."

I spoke more jokingly, listing action after action that he'd done that had caused me to be angry. It became a joke between us, trying to add up how many things he'd done wrong that day. He might reach across me for the butter and I would say, "Offense number three," and he would laugh.

Any flirting done between us now was casual and lighthearted, at least on my part. He kept most of the depth of his feelings out of our relationship, probably sensing that it was delicate enough as it was. I enjoyed bantering with him, flirting in this meaningless way. It was new, having a male friend who I WAS attracted to and who was admittedly in love with me. It was almost pleasant. I knew however ugly I looked; he still thought I looked gorgeous. If I were upset, he would comfort me. I had him without having to even ask, and that made me happier than I had known I could be.

None of our friends got it. They all thought I was falling for him and we were 'inevitable'. I brushed them off. They didn't need to get it. In fact, they were part of the reason we were now so close.

Lily and James, now Jamily, were going strong. They spent all their time together. I swear, I never saw one without the other, except for at night, when Lily would rush into our dorm and gush about her day before falling asleep. Honestly, it drove me crazy. Lily and I had been close for years and though I hadn't known James all that long, we were very close too. I felt like I was no longer needed now that they were together. They were so involved in their romance that all their friendships fell to the side.

All our other friends were occupied too. Kristy and Rick were currently in the same happy couple phase as James and Lily, although they had a lot more physical interaction then Jamily. James and Lily were very rarely seen doing more than holding hands or hugging. Sometimes I wondered how they were surviving.

Rayne and Remus had taken to having extreme study sessions every day in the library. I joined them once or twice, but they were working so high above my level that I gave up after the third time. They might as well have been dating, for all the time they spent joined at the hip.

I didn't know where Pettigrew was, and I really didn't care. I wouldn't have hung out with him for a million galleons. He kind of ghosted around, sometimes he was there, and sometimes he wasn't. I don't think Sirius gave a rat's ass either, because he never asked about him.

So, by necessity, Sirius and I were a whole lot more friendly than I thought we'd ever be.

There were other odd things. For instance, people kept on coming up and talking to me.

This may not seem odd to you. But it definitely was for me. You see, I'd always been popular, but more the kind of popular where people are kind of in awe of you and would never dare talk to you unless you spoke to them. And I did speak to almost everyone at one time or another. When I did, they would kind of clam up and stare in admiration. That's why I so valued my friends. They didn't let my popularity get in the way of their opinions or desires.

Now, however, everything seemed to have changed. People gathered around me in flocks to walk to the next class. They chatted with me about tests, homework, and grades. I was nothing if not mystified. After a shy little fourth year had come up to me and asked for advice on how to improve her Beating, I turned to Kristy in askance.

"Why are they talking to me?" I questioned her bluntly. She laughed, snorting a little.

"After that whole speech, suddenly you are a whole lot more accessible. Before they viewed you as something along the lines of… a celebrity. Not quite human, you know. Bigger and better. But now they've realized that you are just like one of them and you can get hurt too. So they feel okay talking to you. They want to. And it's actually made you more popular as a result."

I'd grunted and mumbled something about "What, did they think I was an alien?" and Kristy had laughed. I still found it very creepy that suddenly they were all immensely friendly with me. However, it was also nice. Though I didn't become close with anyone new, I had a whole lot more people to talk to. And that was all I'd ever really wanted. People to talk to.

Now, I was sitting in the Great Hall, eating. James and Lily were sitting across from me, being adventurous and *gasp* feeding each other food. I rolled my eyes at Sirius, portraying my utter confusion at their ways of showing their love. I mean, where was the snogging? Good, healthy couples snogged.

"So, Ari…" I glanced up to see James grinning at me. "We haven't seen you as much since we got together." He looked at Lily with love blooming in his eyes. "What's been up, besides your secret love affair with my best mate?"

With a straight face, I reached across the table and smacked him. "Ow!" he cried, rubbing the back of his head, "You don't need to get violent."

"In that case, I did." I sniffed. "I've been bored out of my mind, if you must know. I've even done my homework. I haven't procrastinated in so long that it worries me."

James put his hand over his heart in shock. "Well, you'll have to start. Procrastinate tonight! Go out and do something fun."

I just looked at him. "Like what?"

His eyebrows rose. "Aria, are you okay? What has happened to my old pal who always has something fun to do?"

"She took a vacation," I mumbled. Honestly, I didn't really feel good. Kind of… moody. Generally upset. It was probably some odd sort of premonition. Something horrible was most likely going to happen. Like, at any moment, Pettigrew would pop up and declare his ever-lasting love. Or Dumbledore would tell us he'd gotten hitched to a twenty-something exotic dancer. Or Amos Diggory would ask me out to the next Hogsmeade weekend. (Nothing against Diggory, by the way, he's just a bit of a prude. Not exactly my type)

"Students, your attention please." Dumbledore was standing up. I looked intently at his left hand. No ring. Thank Merlin. "As you know, the Halloween ball is next weekend. I have had complaints from many students that they have not been able to mail order the costumes that they desire. Therefore, I have decided we shall have a Hogsmeade outing this weekend, on Saturday. Thank you."

Oh no.

I glanced over at Sirius and quickly looked away. Yep, he was looking at me. Any moment now, he'd lean across the table with that determined and really sexy expression of his and he'd ask me out. And then I'd have to say no, and see the hurt on his face. I wouldn't be able to talk to him, because I'd feel bad and our carefully constructed friendship would fall into pieces.

"I've got to go." I stood up hurriedly, grabbing my bag and making for the door. Heads turned to watch, curious what in the world I was running from. I honestly couldn't have put a name to it. I chanced a look back, to make sure no one was following me, and walked straight into someone else.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" I turned to look at the student that I'd unintentionally run into. Speak of the devil. It was Diggory. "Oh, hello Amos." I smiled. "My apologies. I wasn't looking."

"Yeah, I noticed." He seemed nervous, his voice weak. I looked at him curiously. Had I hit him that hard?

"Uh… Aria?"

I sighed. "Look Amos, I'm kind of in a hurry. Whatever you have to say, could you say it fast?"

He gulped. "AriawillyougowithmetoHogsmeade?"

"What?" I was really hoping I had heard wrong.

"Aria… will you go with me to Hogsmeade?" His eyes were pleading. Oh, damn it. I had run away from being asked out and run into someone who wanted to hit on me. I hate my life.

"Amos…" I started to speak, getting ready to tell him no. And then… I thought about Sirius. He would ask me out, sooner or later, as long as I was available. I needed a date, before he asked me, or our friendship would be ruined. I made a split second choice. "Sure, Amos, I'd love to."

"Really?" His face looked childishly enthusiastic.

"Yeah." I pulled my bag up higher on my shoulder. "Meet you on the front steps at ten?"

"That, that's great!" He was beaming. "I'll see you then."

"Yeah, see you." I muttered, moving past him and out of the Great Hall. Damn it. I really didn't want to go with Amos. If only someone else had asked me first… But no one had. So, I was stuck with him.

Throughout the day, I tried very, very hard not to notice that Sirius was avoiding me like the plague. I tried to tell myself that I had taken the best option, that there was nothing else I could of done. But there was always that nagging voice in my head that was saying, 'You could have gone with Sirius.'

I went out to practice that evening apprehensive. I could see Maxie and Amelia whispering, occasionally looking over at me. When they saw me staring at them, they both turned a deep red and busied themselves with preparing their brooms. Alfred was moping in the corner, and James was talking to Lily, who was now a permanent fixture at our practices. I looked over at Rick. He was trying not to laugh.

I sighed. "What's the gossip saying?" Talking to Rick was better than just standing there.

He chuckled. "Mostly that you only agreed to go with Amos so Sirius wouldn't ask you."

What'd you know? The gossip actually got it right for once. I groaned. "This is hell."

Rick patted my shoulder. "No, I think hell would be a heck of a lot worse."

That's when Sirius strode onto the field. Oh. He looked… pissed. Damn. He's going to kill me.

"In the air, now!" he barked. "James, stop talking to your girlfriend! Now, do you hear me?"

We obeyed hurriedly, launching into the air. And I was right. Sirius seemed committed to killing not only me, but also our whole team. He kept us out until it was almost curfew, constantly yelling what we were doing wrong. By the end, we'd all had to run five laps, do a hundred push-ups and seventy sit-ups. I was exhausted. And absolutely boiling mad.

Everyone else quickly trooped in, but I stayed. James threw a worried look back at me, but I was determined. Sirius put away the last Bludger and looked up.

"What?" he snarled. It only fueled my anger.

"You!" I strode up and poked him in the chest. "You bastard! Taking out whatever you're feeling on your poor teammates, who only want you to be happy! Alfred was practically in tears! You had no right to act this way! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

His mouth tightened into an angry line. "I have a right to be upset! I have a right to be pissed! And I have a right to express that however the hell I want!"

"Not on people that have done nothing wrong!" I was yelling, loud. I could only hope no one was around to hear this. "If you are mad at someone, why don't you tell them instead of stomping around like Slughorn when Lily doesn't come to one of his parties! God Sirius! Even I know that!"

"Fine then!" He was seething. "You want me to talk to the person I'm mad at?"

"Yeah, I do." I stood my ground, even though he had invaded my space. We were only a few inches apart. He towered over me. I had to tilt my head to look up at him.

"Alright then." His eyes burned into mine. I couldn't look away if I wanted to. "WHAT THE HELL, ARIA? I thought we were friends, or something close to it! But as soon as Dumbledore announces the Hogsmeade trip, you start running away again! And then you say you'll go out with Diggory! Diggory! That self-absorbed, pretentious asshole! After that, you avoid me all bloody day and look at me like I'm about to turn into some sort of vicious monster that is going to brutally murder everyone! How the hell am I supposed to feel about THAT! Fuck, Aria! You are so insensitive sometimes!"

"Well, how was I supposed to act?!" I was steaming. I wanted to hit him. I wanted to punch his bloody head off. "Am I supposed to just sit there and deal with your issues with me! Am I supposed to say, 'No, Amos. I can't go out with you. Sirius likes me, and because of that, I can't date anyone else'! Hell no! I am going to live my life, and I am going to date WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

"It's always about you, isn't it! It's always YOUR problems that are most important! You never even stopped to think, 'Huh, maybe I should give Sirius a chance'! What am I to you Aria? A convenient fall back? Someone you can have if no one else is there! Second best? SETTLING?"

"NO!!!" My fists were clenched. "NO, YOU AREN'T. The only reason I'm not going out with you is because you care way more for me than I do for you and THAT IS NOT FAIR TO YOU!"

It was suddenly silent. I had shocked him, and myself. That was the truth I'd sworn I'd never admit to him. The truth that the only thing that kept me from dating him, was the fact that he loved me more than I could reciprocate. If I was to go out with him, I wanted to love him equally, if not more. I swallowed. I wasn't sure I could do this.

His eyes were wide, vulnerable. We were both breathing hard, so close to each other that I could feel the heat of his body radiating towards mine. I wanted to back up, to run away. This was too close. I couldn't deal with this level of nearness. Only one thing could happen in this sort of situation: pain.

And then he was leaning down towards me and I was falling into him and his mouth was on mine.

Hee hee hee! Cliff hanger! *Does happy dance* I love leaving you guys hanging... even if I don't like being left hanging myself!

Just so you know, I already have the next chapter finished. Maybe if you beg enough, I'll put it up early... But that will take a whole lot of reviews! MUA HA HA HA!

So, please review! I would really appreciate it! And thanks for reading!

Love you guys! :)